January 2020 – French Broad Hollow Ramble

Winter continues

Remember! This blog displays best in a browser, not in email or Facebook.

Truffula tree! 1-21-20 – Version 3

When I first saw this, I wondered if it was a Truffula tree (Truffulus truffuli)! But no, it was just a branch from one of the several sycamore trees (Platanus occidentalis) that grow near my house (and drop branches, leaves, “gumballs”, and fuzz all over my deck and yard).

1-19-20

1-21-20

1-23-20

1-24-20

1-25-20

It seems that winter has decided to stay for a while. We had some morning lows in the teens and a couple of days when it never got above freezing. And more rain. As you can see, we’ve had some sunny days, too, although some days it was sunny in town but not here.

I usually see the deer in my meadow, but they roam around the Hollow, and today I saw them in a neighbor’s field, headed for my place. (I can recognize some of the ones in “my” herd.)

I don’t see much new on my rambles these days. Almost everything (except the red mud!) is gray and brown this time of year. The one thing that is changing is the construction of the new house. The weather has delayed some of the outside tasks (like painting), and I know the owners are looking forward to moving into the Hollow.

Since there’s not much new, there’s not much to write. Maybe next time…

1-19-20

1-21-20

1-23-10

1-24-20

1-25-20

Rainy day

Sunrise 1-17-20

Suddenly we’re back to winter! The photo above is yesterday’s sunrise; today it’s raining and in the low 40s. That’ll seem warm compared to the next few days, when forecasts call for highs in the mid-30s (but sunny) and lows in the teens. It will be a cold walk down to feed the deer, and I know they’ll be happy to see me.

1-11-20

1-13-20

1-14-20

1-16-20

1-17-20

1-18-20

Of course, they’re always happy to see me (and the feed bucket). Bambi greets me even when I’m rambling empty-handed!

The one I call Spooky no longer runs very far when I approach, and her 2019 little fawn Espejo has started coming closer when I call. (These two have circles around their eyes, which allow me to identify them.)

Spooky & Espejo 1-15-20

Espejo 1-15-20

One of the bucks has been visiting the meadow pretty regularly. The does don’t run away as they did a few weeks ago, and the buck seems more interested in corn than porn.

This morning he was in the meadow when I went down, and I also saw Li’l Buck near the cedar tree. (He’s the injured buck, a 2018(?) fawn.) They both ran into the woods across the road, but the big guy returned before I left. Buck 1-18-20

I took feed to the meadow before it started raining early this afternoon when I saw Bambi and his sibling. I know others will want to be fed soon and have been keeping an eye out. Not much else has been happening in the Hollow or on my rambles, so I’ll leave you with this until the next post.

1-11-20

1-12-20

1-13-20

1-16-20

1-17-20

1-18-20

Not much new

Remember! This blog displays best in a browser, not in email or Facebook.

fullsizeoutput_85f

Although it was 22° yesterday morning, it has mostly continued to be abnormally warm, and no freezing temperatures are forecast for the next week. In fact, the forecast low temperatures are about what the high temperature usually are. Oh well, and we’re expecting more rain (although not as much as I think some of you will be experiencing).

1-4-20

1-5-20

1-6-20

1-7-20

1-9-20

1-10-20

No deer showed up for breakfast the morning it was bitterly cold, which was surprising since they usually rush to eat when the weather is bad. Some had already headed for the woods when I went down to feed them that afternoon, but they came running when I called.

Today they literally “showed their butts” as I was filling the pans. (They often go in a group from pan to pan.)

We don’t get much litter in the Hollow. (The contractor has told the construction crews to drive slowly and not litter, but I have lectured a few when I pick up their trash.) I pick up trash when I see it, unless it’s inaccessible. fullsizeoutput_861

Today, however, I found something truly disgusting and, quite frankly, a bit disturbing since it was almost in sight of my house. Since I promised in my last post to share any interesting finds, here it is. In case you can’t read the packet, it is a Trojan. 😦

And that’s enough to make me stop writing for today; I hope the next post will make you (and me) smile!

1-4-20

1-5-20

1-6-20

71-4-20

1-9-20

1-10-20

It’s a New Year!

Here we are in a new year, but you’d never know it from the weather. As you can see from the thumbnails below, we’ve continued to have some sunny days, some rainy days, and some foggy days. Today it’s been rainy and foggy, but I got out for a ramble when it was just sprinkling.

12-19-19

12-24-19

12-26-19

12-30-19

12-28-19

12-25-19

12-31-19

1-2-20

Most of the trees lost their leaves a while ago, but leaves on the American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and the red oaks hang on, and the many pines, few surviving Eastern hemlocks, and this red cedar (Juniperus silicicola) that I brought when I moved almost nine years ago from Alabama (and it was two feet tall) provide green along the way. The lichen-covered bare trees and the pink-purple canes of the native black raspberries stand out on cloudy days.

American beech (Fagus grandifolia)

Eastern hemlock

Red cedar

Black raspberry canes

The ferns, mosses, lichen, and—surprisingly—mushrooms also add color and different textures. I found one puttyroot orchid (Aplectrum hyemale) and am on the lookout for more.

Puttyroot orchid

Of course, the deer continue to come to feed, waiting at the basement door (and sometimes at the front door!) for breakfast and returning in the afternoons. They nap on the path near the house when they arrive too early. I haven’t seen much buck activity lately, although this big fellow was in the meadow a few days after Christmas.

Napping

Bambi wants in

Christmas morning

New Year’s Day

And the local flock of eight tom turkeys often joins the deer in the afternoon.

Like where most of you readers live, we have coyotes in the Hollow. Only a few solitary ones have been captured by my trail camera, and I don’t think they’re a problem in my little part of the Hollow. However, I sometimes see their scat on my rambles; it usually seems to reflect a diet of rabbits and other wild animals. About a month ago I found the skull of a domestic cat (probably feral), and this week I found a spine that also seems to be from a cat. I suspect this/these to be the victim/s of coyotes, too.